It happens all the time: Band members get sick of each other and dissolve their unions. Rich Rust says that's what happened when he played with both the Nixon Clocks and Dharma Sons; when he moved to San Francisco a couple years ago, the distance alone precluded any reunions.
But when Rust was diagnosed with cancer, his views changed.
"When I stopped playing with these bands, we hated each other," he says. "But with perspective, you start thinking maybe it wasn't so bad."
Letting bygones be bygones, the Nixon Clocks and the Dharma Sons are reuniting for a show tonight at the Rex Theatre in the South Side. The Distractions, another band Rust gigged with, are also on the bill.
Rust moved back to the area a year ago, fully recovered from his bout with cancer. A benefit show the Clocks played in March for a deceased friend, Mark Pluchinsky, took the edge off past grievances.
"It put into perspective all those petty squabbles and the reasons we didn't want to play together," Rust says. "We've known each other for 15 years, and the bottom line is that now we're all pretty good friends."
For tonight's show, Rust expects 14 or 15 ex-Clocks to grace the stage at one time or another. He'll also step in to play with the Sons and the Distractions, the only band on the bill to maintain a constant presence in area clubs the last few years.
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